by Daniel Coyle

A Nonfiction, 1993 by GP Putnam’s Sons, 320 Pages 

What I Didn’t Like:

• There are a lot of characters here to keep track of and they’re all introduced at once. Sometimes I forgot who a character was and had to back track to remind myself. 
• I’ve said this about other baseball books but I read this for the characters (obviously) and only wanted baseball as a vessel for the story. For me there was too much baseball. Stats, other teams, coaches, game play by play … I was tempted to speed past that stuff. 
• Let’s address the most common complaint about this book head on: the movie was better. The movie took liberties and changed things for dramatic effect. This is real. But, as a negative, if you’ve seen the movie the book moves slower. 

What I Did Like:

• The characters are well written. This is based on a true story and that comes through. In fiction we often speculate on why someone is the way they are or delve into the background. This avoids that because it is nonfiction. It’s simply the way it happened. And yet, it works.
• In “what I didn’t like” I mentioned some people felt the movie was better. While that’s true for entertainment value, this story is TRUTH. It’s what happened without a team of writers forcing the themes. It’s the reality behind youth sports, rough neighborhoods, and kids society forgets about. The movie missed the mark on a lot of that, using stereotyped characters to push their plot. The book captures real people and real situations. For that, it’s beautiful. 
• The ending is perfectly written to give you hope while still reminding you of reality. I actually liked that it didn’t flash to a “where are they now” type segment because we have to be allowed to keep the hope alive. 

Who Should Read This One:

• Teachers or coaches who have worked with “difficult”, “underprivileged”, or “underperforming” groups will benefit the most from this real portrayal. It hit a nerve and even had a few sentences that stood out for me.

My Rating: 4 Stars

• As a true story, this is exactly what it needed to be. It tells the story and gives the characters immortality within the pages.